Slovakia · 200th anniversary of the birth of Ľudovít Štúr

Issue date23 Oct 2015

Total mintage1,000,000

EU maximum1,000,000

Editions4

Edge letteringSLOVENSKÁ REPUBLIKA + ★ + Linden leaf + ★

Inscription2015 / SLOVENSKO / 1815-1856 / ĽUDOVÍT ŠTÚR / MK / IR

DesignerIvan Řehák

mintMincovna Kremnica, š.p., Kremnica / Slovakia

Issue occasion

The commemorative coin commemorates the 200th anniversary of the birth of Ľudovít Štúr (1815–1856). The design features his portrait, as well as his name and dates of life. It also depicts the mint mark of Kremnica Mint and the initials of the coin’s designer, Ivan Řehák.

The design

The coin features a portrait of Ľudovít Štúr. To its right, along the inner edge of the coin, are the year of issue “2015” and, further to the right, the name of the issuing country “SLOVENSKO”. To the left of the portrait, along its inner edge, the coin bears Štúr’s years of birth and death “1815-1856” and, further to the left, the inscription “ĽUDOVÍT ŠTÚR”. In the upper right part of the design, the mark “MK” of Mincovňa Kremnica can be seen between two dies. In the lower right, the initials of the coin’s designer Ivan Řehák appear in stylised lettering.

The twelve stars of the European flag are depicted on the outer ring of the coin.

Background on the topic

Ľudovít Štúr was a linguist, writer, journalist and politician. He belonged to the generation of the Slovak national movement that formed within the Kingdom of Hungary in the 19th century. Its aim was to establish the Slovak language in education, literature and public life, and to demand political and cultural rights for the Slovak population.

During Štúr’s lifetime, there were different views on which written language the Slovaks should use. Protestant authors often wrote in a form of Czech, while among Catholic scholars an older standard developed by Anton Bernolák was widespread. In 1843, Štúr and his fellow campaigners Jozef Miloslav Hurban and Michal Miloslav Hodža agreed on a new codification based primarily on Central Slovak dialects. Štúr subsequently established this form of the language in linguistic writings. After later adjustments, it became the basis of today’s Slovak standard language.

As a journalist, Štúr published the newspaper „Slovenskje národňje novini“ with the literary supplement „Orol tatránski“. In doing so, he created a forum for political debates, literature and questions of national self-organisation. At the same time, he was a member of the Hungarian Diet. There, among other things, he advocated social reforms and the recognition of the linguistic rights of the Slovaks.

During the revolutions of 1848, the conflict between the Hungarian national movement and the non-Magyar population groups of the Kingdom intensified. Štúr was involved in formulating Slovak political demands and was one of the leading representatives of the Slovak National Council (Slowakischer Nationalrat). This organised armed actions against the Hungarian revolutionary government and at times cooperated with the Habsburg side. However, the hoped-for political self-government was not realised.

The commemoration on a state-issued commemorative coin is primarily explained by Štúr’s role in the development of the Slovak written language and the political formation of the Slovak national movement. Both are closely connected with the emergence of a modern Slovak identity.